Combined table and seats



Jan. 9, 1951 F. GIBERsoN COMBINED TABLE AND SEATS Filed June 27, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l @57.1 D M? ,4 L1 ,Z "1" x .L5 -*h j! f4 VVV TH i VMI! ,will

1U, 'kl/,1' v l' l IN VEN TOR.

A' Frank Glbarsof( BY F. GIBERSON COMBINED TABLE AND SEATS Jan. 9, 1951 Filed June 27, 1946 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. Frank Glezsom Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES OFFICE 2,537,127 comentan TABLE AND SEATS Frank eilversee, South .Irren Mieli.- Applieadon rune er, 194e, semaine. 679,692

(i Claims- 1 This inventien relates t tables and partiell: larly tables designed for eutseer and ...me monly termed pieni@ tables.

Picnic tables are generally o f a sise to aornf modate a considerable number .of eereerrs and usually comprise permanently attached seats, Such tables, as heretofore constructed, are to@ bulky to be put in storage through the winter7 and :their exposure through the winter months tends to greatly shorten their useful life. Such tables have also been awkward to handle and have required too much space to permit their shipment at reasonable cost.

It is an object of the invention to adapt a picnic table to be readily disassembled into vunits suited for compact storage and convenient handling and shipping, without unduly increasing manufacturing costs as compared to present practices.

Another object is to produce a knock-down type of outdoor table that will be as strong, if not stronger, than tables now built for alike purpose of inseparable parts.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Where- 1n:

Fig

. is a top plan view of my improved table.

' side elevational viewv of the saine: Fig. y is a View of the table in end elevation.

4 is a bottom view of the table top, as a disassembled unit.

5 is vertical sectional detail, taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3, showing a releasable interlock between the top and an Yend frame of the table.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional detail taken on the line 6 6 ci Fig. 3, showing a releasable interlock between a seat-forming plank and an end frame.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged View of a portion of Fig. 2 showing tensioning means for a tie rod.

In these views, the reference character I designates a table top formed of planks in side-byside relation, rigidly interconnected by two heavy iron straps 2 extending across the end portions of said top, and secured to the under -faces of the individual planks by screws 3 (Fig. 4) Said top seats on a pair of end frames, each comprising a pair of heavyT legs 4, a bridging joist 5 surmounting su-ch legs, and a bracing joist 6 mortised into the mid portions of the legs. A bolt "l and nut 'la rigidly secure each leg to the lioist 5 and the joist S is rigidly mounted on the legs by bolts 8 and nuts 8a Securely driven into each end portion of each joist 5 is a pin 9, preferably (o1. VVreagire;

approximately vertical. the lower portion or these pins extending snugly into the legs, whereby such pins supplement the bolts in maintaining the end frame assemblies. The pins 9 have flat.- tened heads it spaced slightly above the joists 5 to enter recesses i I in the under face of the table top, sue-h recesses overlying the straps 2 and being elongated from each strap toward the ade..

jacent table end to allow the heads It to .enter theres-asses. rihe heads i of the pins of each end frame project toward the opposite end frame so that said heads may be wedged in the recesses II above the straps 2 by shifting the end frames slightly toward each other, after initial insertion of the heads in the recesses. Thus, when the table is assembled, the straps 2 are interposed between the inner margins of the joists 5 and the tcp i establishing a desirable slight outward pitch, from top to bottom of the end frames, such as to increase the space available beneath the table.

'I he joists t project suiiciently beyond the legs to seat bench-forming planks I2 extending at each side of the table. The planks I2 may be disassembled from the end frames, similarly to the top i, each plank having underlying iron cross straps I3 on its end portions and having a recess I4 above each strap elongated beyond the strap toward the adjacent plank extremity. Each end portion of each joist 6 carries a sub-V stantially vertical bolt I5 held in place by a nut ld, the heads IS of these bolts beingspaced slightly above the joists S to enter the recesses I4, said heads on the two end frames being elon-v gated toward each other and flattened towedge in said recesses above the straps I3, when the end frames are shifted slightly toward each other. To each bolt l5 there is welded a collar Il slightly below the head it to resist the downward stress imposed by the nut IEa and assure the desired upward spacing of such head from the corresponding joist 6.

To securely maintain the described table assembly, a pair of elongated rods I8 establish a releasable connection between the joist 5 of each end frame and the joist 6 of the opposite frame, such rods being thus diagonally crossed, as best appears in Fig. 2. It is preferred to dispose these rods at least approximately in the medial vertical longitudinal plane of the table so that they'avoid interference with use of the benches. ends of the rods form hooks I9 to detachably engage staples or the like driven in the joists 5, and latch arms 2i! pivoted to the lower ends of the rods afford leverage for tensioning the rods The upper' in engaging them with short lengths of chain 2| secured to the joists 6. When said latch arms are transverse to the rods, as indicated in dash lines in Fig. 7, they may be slipped through any desired links of the chains 2|, and a considerable tensional stress may then be applied to the rods and chains by swinging the latch arms to approximate parallelism with the rods. The tensioning positions of the latch arms may be maintained by so pivoting rings 22 on the rods that they may be swung across the arm extremities to encircle or release the arms.

Since the top, end frames, bench planks, and tensioning rods of the described table are separable units, it is evident that the problem of winter storage is greatly simplified as compared to a. permanent assembly. The unit construction further greatly facilitates transportation to and from a place of storage, and renders it feasible to ship the table in a suiiciently compact form to avoid prohibitive freight rates. Y

What I claim is:

1. A table comprising a top, formed by a plurality of elongated members in side-by-side relation, a pair of cross bars secured to the end portions of the top, therebeneath, fastenings securing said bars to the several elongated members and holding such members in assembly, a pair of end frames for seating said top, anchoring projections rigidly mounted on each end frame engageable above said cross bars to interlock the top and end frames, and releasable connections between the end frames normally establishing and maintaining the interlocking relation of the top and end frames, the top having recesses in its bottom face overlying said cross bars and extending beyond the cross bars toward the ends of the top to admit said projections, such projections being spaced above the end frame to enter said recesses.

2. A table as set forth in claim 1, said releasable connections extending approximately in the medial vertical longitudinal plane of the table from the top portion of each end frame to the mid portion of the other end frame, I

3. A table comprising a top, a pair of end frames for seating the top, each end frame including a cross brace having end portions projecting beyond such frame, and a pair of seats at the sides of said table supported on said projecting end portions, the top and seats having cross bars secured to their under faces, projections on the end frames engageable above said cross bars by movement of the end frames toward each other, and detachable means for stressing the end frames toward each other to maintain said projections above the cross bars.

4. A table as set forth in claim 3, said detachable means being substantially equidistant from said seats.

5. A table comprising a pair of end frames. each including a cross brace having end portions projecting beyond such frame, a top seated on and bridged across said end frames, a pair of seats at opposite sides of said top, supported on and bridged across the end portions of the cross braces, a cross bar secured to the under face of each end portion of each seat, upward projections on the end frames engageable above said cross bars by movement of the end frames toward each other, an elongated tie member interconnecting the end frames and substantially equidistant from the seats, and means for regularly tensioning said tie member.

6. A table member comprising a top, a pair of cross bars respectively secured to and beneath the respective end portions of the top, a pair of end frames for seating the top, each such frame including a pair of legs and a member bridged across such legs, pins downwardly driven into the bridging members and connecting the bridging members to the legs, and formed with heads engageable above said cross bars to lock the top on the end frames, and releasable connections between the end frames, holding said heads in their locking positions above the cross bars.

FRANK GIBERSON.

, REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 272,471 Post Feb. 20, 1883 553,386 Blair Jan. 21, 1896 642,962 Danner Feb. 6, 1900 765,272 Collier July 19, 1904 882,316 Horton Mar. 17, 1908 983,903 Horton Feb. 14, 1911 1,148,070 Billingsley July 27, 1915 1,351,013 Stine Aug. 24, 1920 1,422,246 Adams July 11, 1922 1,690,025 Loveridge Oct. 30, 1928 1,752,818 Taylor Apr. l, 1930 1,933,232 Vaughn Oct. 31, 1933 2,010,394 Herman Aug. 6, 1935 2,257,550 Gay Sept. 30, 1941 2,399,378 Paquette Apr. 30, 1946 2,411,658 Larue Nov. 26, 1946 

